Whispers in the Dark
by NaomiHope
Summary: Naomi Hope is struggling with school and being Headgirl. Not to mention the constant threat of being tortured by Draco Malfoy. Can Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron help her through the times or will they end up getting hurt in the process.
1. Shopping for a New Year

Chapter 1: Shopping for a New Year

Naomi woke up at 9:00 AM. As she stretched she slipped her feet into her pink fuzzy slippers and walked into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror she saw a completely different person. Just the previous year Naomi had been a grand total of 5'2 but still 130 pounds, you could say that the proportions made her seem kind of big. However, during the summer she had grown 6 inches, taking away the look of her weight and giving her a more fitting body. Naomi touched her face as a memory flashed in her eyes.

"Hey Pizza Face, lay off on the pepperoni and grease." A 4th year Slytherin screamed in the main hall causing everyone to turn and laugh.

When she snapped back, Naomi looked straight into a smoother face with high cheekbones. The 15 years of acne had been over, when after working odd jobs and saving up her money from neighborhood chores, she was able to buy new cream that got rid of all the red bumps and scars in less than a month.

Unlike many pure-blood families, Naomi was diffidently not rich due to her mother's drug addiction and father's gambling problem.

Finally realizing that she had spent 15 minutes remembering her old self, Naomi grabbed the cleanser and washed her face, applied light eyeliner, and finished it all off with light brown lip gloss. After brushing her teeth she looked at the clock and realized that she was already running late so she decided that she would take her shower after she had returned from Diagon Alley.

Naomi stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to her closet to get her safe and opened it. The money shined in gold and silver from the months she had worked. She ended up making more that enough money to get herself through the year. Naomi took out 100 galleons and walked over to the family's fireplace.

"Diagon Alley!" she projected, dropping the floo powder instantaneously.

The whirling made her dizzy but ended before she got sick. There was a thump and Naomi was thrown into the Leaky Cauldron with out being noticed as if this kind of thing happened every five minutes.

Standing up Naomi walked toward the back of the pub and pulled out her wand to tap the bricks. One by one they started to shift around and pebbles rebounded off the floor when they fell. When the phenomenon was over with she walked past and straight into the hustle and bustle of every day life. Naomi pulled out a list of supplies and read them to herself, 'robes, school books, owl, and a gown'.

Since it didn't really matter where she started Naomi decided to go from left to right, this approach sent her to 'Rags to Robes' for her first store. For years Naomi had been going there because all of the other robe stores had bulky clothes that were very heavy and unflattering. Here at 'Rags to Robes' the material was much lighter and you could choose your design. Naomi walked into the flower scented store and went straight to the front desk.

"I need to buy robes for school." she said shyly.

"Certainly, what school do you attend?" she asked, smiling.

"Hogwarts, I'm in Slytherin." The clerk looked up but then mildly shook her head as if she were wrong about something.

"Do you happen to have a frequent buyer's card?" she handed it to her politely. She looked at the name on the card and then looked back at Naomi.

"NO! Naomi? Wow, you have certainly grown since the last time you were here."

She looked confused. How could she remember her? She obviously sensed her confusion and took the time to explain herself.

"You are the only girl from the house of Slytherin that has respect for their elders. Everyone else comes in here demanding this and requiring that. You must be unique." She finished her sentence in a huff. Finally it was all cleared up. Slytherin was a memorable house and no other student had any respect, other than Naomi that is.

The lady at the desk handed her a catalogue to look through for the design she wanted. This year the requirements were less strict so Naomi settled for robes that had ¾ sleeves and the hem just below the knee. Then she flipped through the rest of the pages until she found a short green plaid skirt and plain white polo shirt. Naomi decided to order 10 sets and because she was a student and had a frequent buyer's card it only cost her 20 galleons.

The lady walked back by, a couple of minutes later, and Naomi stopped her politely.

"I've found what I wanted. May we do the fitting now?" The lady smiled sweetly and said of course. Both of them walked into a separate room as she took her measurements. She quietly hummed gospel songs as Naomi watched the work in the mirror, now that she had grown, the uniform looked much better. There were no more bulges in the midsection and the skirt was now a smaller size because she didn't have to worry about extra skin.

"So miss, I recall a certain story about a young trouble maker. Aw what was his name? Derrick… no, maybe it was Danny… no, that's not it either."

"Draco?"

"Yes that's it! So how do you think he will act this year, same as always? It seems that boys like that don't ever change. He seems like a truly horrendous young man. It must be hard living in the same school with such a fellow!"

"I'm sure he hasn't changed one bit. Yes Draco is the same as ever and no I don't think he will ever change. I guess I really have to get used to him since I will be with him for 2 years after this one."

Naomi continued to talk about previous years with the horrible boy until the lady stopped her to tell her that she had finished. "Your robes will be finished in about 2 hours," she said. Naomi thanked the woman and left the store with the bell chiming behind her. She proceeded to walk down the alley until she reached Flourish and Blotts.

Naomi opened the door and the familiar scent overwhelmed her, the smell of new books. She walked up and down the isles until she reached the Standard schooling section and from there found an Isle entitled 'Hogwarts School'. The isle was sectioned into many areas. One for each year and then those were sectioned into classes. Naomi walked toward the 5th year section and then looked for each school book.

For potions she needed 'Potions, a Complete Works year 5', by Glendale Atwood. Transfiguration was 'Transfiguring the Magical World' by Rosalie Grail. Herbology required '10,000 Magical Herbs and How to Use Them' by Sutton Eldon. Charms it was mandatory to own 'Charms: From A to Z' by Walton Adeline. DADA had demanded 'Fighting the Forces' by Chance Quelling. And the divination teacher ordered for 'Seeing through the ages, year five' by Chan Vanstone.

The books cost 25 galleons in total and that was pretty good compared to the previous year of 58 Galleons 23 sickles and 9 knuts. The DADA teacher was pure mad! Naomi was able to get out of the store in 1 hour and headed west to the Owl Emporium. She reached the oak doors and couldn't believe to smell but once she walked in a bit further it lessened enough to where Naomi could breathe again, it must have been a charm. Naomi saw a clerk struggling with a particular owl so she walked over in attempt to help.

The owl was hanging onto the clerks thumb as she tried to fill the food bowl. "Here let me help." Naomi said as she stroked the owl's back. It let go of the clerk long enough to fly into her jacket and peeped its small head out and cooed.

"How? Hold on Earth? This _thing _has been giving me trouble all month! I would try to feed it and it would ATTACK me! Why is it that a complete stranger can walk over here and completely calm her? This is IMPOSSIBLE!" Naomi laughed at the Clerks white-eyed rage.

"She does seem to like me huh?" Naomi laughed as the clerk huffed. The clerk glared at her as she led Naomi over to the counter. "That would be 5 sickles."

"That's it?" She exclaimed, completely surprised at such a low price. "I will sell _that_ for any price in order to get rid of it. So are you going to pay or what?" Naomi gave the grumpy clerk the money and left the emporium in a quick speed. The owl stayed in her jacket as she skipped along the sidewalk up to a gown shop.

Naomi opened the heavy yet elegant brass doors and was led into a brightly lit shop. The isles opened up into hundreds of dresses and suits. She walked through the isles for what seemed like hours but had only been 45 minutes. Every single dress that she found was either too slutty or too much like a grandmother suit. Naomi decided to leave the store when she started getting a headache. Since she still had about 10 minutes left before her robes were ready, and 'Rags' was across the street, Naomi decided to walk around but before she could take 5 steps she saw a young witch, maybe 11 years old, with a cart of clothes. Naomi walked over shyly and found many beautiful dresses but in the bunch she found the most beautiful gown. Naomi reached out and pulled it off the rack gently as if it would tear with a jerky movement.

"Do you like it? It took me almost 3 weeks to finish," the young witch whispered. Naomi looked at her in amazement and nodded slowly. "I'll sell it too you for 3 galleons, I know it's a bit steep but—" she cut her off, "no." Her face fell tremendously when the word left Naomi's mouth. "You deserve more for this," she said as she slipped the rest of her money into her hand. It was a bit under 60 galleons and she knew that it still didn't equal the price of the gown but if Naomi had given her any more she would most likely not accept it. She stared in disbelief and when she held it up to give it back thinking it was way too much, Naomi was gone.

Naomi ran into 'Rags to Robes' and walked up to the desk. The lady handed her the robes and she ran out the door toward the Leaky Cauldron. Her feet pounded on the pavement loudly with the small puddles of water splashing high when her feet landed in them. Naomi reached the pub in 5 minutes and walked swiftly toward the fireplace, taking a blanket off the shelf. She stepped in the fireplace, covering everything she had bought, except the owl, which was still tucked away, inside her jacket. She said 'Hope Residence' and the swirling began. Naomi threw her feet out in front of her when the frame of her own fireplace came into view, and came to a halt in a standing position on the floor. Quickly Naomi threw some floo powder into the fire and said 'Leaky Cauldron' as well as throwing the blanket in, sending it back to the pub in which it belonged.

The owl flew out of the bottom of her jacket and started chirping as it sat on her bed.

"Now all you need is a name! How about Ann," the owl glared back, "You don't seem to like that. Maybe Katy," the owl flew up and flapped its wing in Naomi's face, "Wow! You really didn't like that one; I know! What about something different, like Fida?" The owl cooed and flapped her wings happily. "Fida, I know that from somewhere… They used to call my sister that before she died. They called her Fida, latin for faith."


	2. Meeting the Family

Chapter 2: Meeting the Family

Thinking of her sister again brought tears to Naomi's eyes. It had been 12 years since she walked through the door and each day, on the last day at Hogwarts, she would sit in the car waiting for her to get in beside her.

FLASHBACK

Naomi, hurry up or you won't get to see my school!" Tammy said. Naomi, age 3, ran after her older sister who was just about to graduate from Hogwarts.

Tammy had taken Potions, DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration in order to pass her aurors test. She ended up passing all her Newts with an O except for Potions where she got an E. She was still eligible for the Aurors exam. When she took it she passed and was now about to enter the Ministry of Magic but first had to graduate from Hogwarts.

Both Tammy and Naomi walked into the great hall when they were about to start calling names. It took Tammy 15 minutes to be called. She walked onto the platform and received her golden wand trophy and proceeded to walk off stage.

30 minutes later

Tammy and her younger sister were running through the forest and 10 other people were chasing them. They were gaining on them fast and all Naomi could do was cry and run.  
"NAOMI LOOK OUT!" a silent spell was thrown right toward her but Tammy picked her up and threw Naomi in a hole inside a nearby tree. It was too late for Tammy though; a full-grown wizard trapped her with a leg-binding spell and ran up to her. The death eater looked to his left, straight at Naomi, and laughed.

"Oh now killing you, my little girl, would be fun, but making you watch your filthy sister die would be even better!" He laughed and that's when Naomi knew the full extent of the problem. Tammy's eyes went white, the color completely drained from them it was like they were replaced with fear.

"CRUCIO!" Tammy screamed so loud and bloodily that Naomi began to shake but she couldn't look away. There was a sinister voice inside her head repeating over and over, 'keep watching'. Someone had used the imperious curse. Naomi screamed in fear as she witnessed each bone, in her defenseless sister's body, break one by one. The man then said a spell that picked Tammy up and folded her in half, but somehow she was still alive. That's when the man yelled the worst curse yet.

"AVADA KADAVRA!" The green light was so blinding that Naomi couldn't scream anymore. The whole forest lit up and she passed out. When she woke up Naomi was in the hospital and in the news, headlines read, 'DEATHEATERS, ALL AROUND ENGLAND, KILLING YOUNG AURORS'.

The memory that had just flooded her mind was gone again and Naomi broke down crying. She could still see the fear in her sister's eyes. Naomi had made a promise to herself that night, she vowed to stay away from such strong love that she and her sister had shared. Never again did Naomi want to feel that kind of loss for the fear that she saw had radiated into Naomi's body and left its imprint in her heart. Fear, so intense, was never meant to be felt by a young 3 year old, girl. In Tammy's dyeing moments, she was not thinking for herself, but praying for the safety of her sister, Naomi.

What would have happened had you not gone on that walk after the ceremony? Would you still have her sister? Would her mom not be the drug addict that she was today? And would her dad still be spending all the money on poker games? All of her family's problems had started when her sister was murdered.

Someone rapped on the door. Naomi walked over to it, not caring who it was or what they wanted. When she opened the door her mother was standing there, swaying slightly, and leaning to the left. Naomi could tell that she was high, and maybe a bit drunk as well.

"D-did you g-get your s-s-stuff?" She slurred.

"Yes." Naomi said in a half-hearted tone. Her mom's hand flew up so fast and hit her so hard that she wondered it she really was drunk. No intoxicated person could hit with such accuracy.

"D-don't you eve-ever s-speak to me l-like that a-again y-you b-b-bitch!" yeah she was drunk no doubt about it. She walked away, back down the hall, running into the wall a couple of times and Naomi shut her door again. She didn't really care that her mother hit her so much anyway, she was actually used to her random acts of violence. Naomi's mother didn't always hit her, but she did curse a lot.

Naomi turned around and found Fida sitting on the bed and pecking at the cage. She realized that Fida must want Naomi to set it up so she could sleep somewhere during the night. Naomi grabbed some bedding out of the back and put it in the bottom of the cage as well as some food and water. Fida looked happy as she climbed into the cage and sat on the stick that lay suspended in the middle.

Naomi walked back over to the closet and pulled out three trunks. In the first trunk she packed all of her robes, because even though they were thinner than most, they still took up a whole trunk. In the second trunk she packed all of her shirts, skirts, and the years supply of toiletries because her mother would never be willing to send Naomi some more, via owl. Maybe her mom didn't even know that her owl had died. Obviously all of the drugs had gotten into its system and caused serious damage. Naomi had found it one day lying on the floor in a crooked position and buried it in the yard. Finally in the third trunk she packed all of her schoolbooks, parchment, quills, runes, and a crystal ball.

Even though Naomi knew that Trelawney was a fraud she still wanted to build on her blood given talent. She could interpret many signs that the old bat Trelawney thought she could. Seers ran in Naomi's family and since the day Naomi found out that there was a possibility that she could 'see' she wanted to enhance on that talent.

All of the suitcases were overflowing with things for school now and Naomi still had to shut them. She sat on each of them one by one and snapped the belts closed. She was packed and ready to go in the morning but still needed to forge her mom's signature for the Hogsmeade trip. Naomi took her mom's wand out from under her bed and tapped the paper 7 times to take the spell off, it that showed if a form was forged. Naomi then took out a pen, signed it, and reinstated the spell. Naomi was finally ready and now had hours to kill before it was time to go back to sleep and wake up again the next morning. She pulled all of the trunks up against the wall and started sticking stickers and photo clippings on them, as well as other things muggle, like playing cards.

There were multitudes of pictures of friends and the summer vacation on the trunks and when Naomi finished she stood up and turned the music player on. Calmly she said Dance Dance – Fall out Boy and the lyrics blared out of the sound proof walls and Naomi sat on the floor and began to stretch out every muscle in her body starting with her legs and moving up to her arms

Naomi started dancing in a graceful manner when the next song came on. She flew through the room doing many complicated maneuvers. Her arms drew shapes in the air as she kicked her leg high when the guitar punch came. Then Naomi sped up and started throwing herself around the room but still making it look good. The song slowed down again and sped back up as did she. The song ended and she was sweating profusely. Naomi grabbed her running clothes after the quick dance warm up and put them on.

Naomi left her room to find her mom lying on the couch passed out cold. Naomi's dad hadn't been home for a week. He was probably away in Vegas again for the 17th time that year and it was only June. She exited the house and started the jog when her feet left the lawn and hit the sidewalk. Naomi was used to waking up at 5 and getting ready to run at six and then coming back at 7:30 for a shower. She normally ran 2 miles everyday and it started out as an idea just to escape the hassle of life in the house.

The trees were scented heavily of pine and there were many beautiful houses that she passed. 5 minutes into the run and Naomi was already at 1/2 of a mile. The time went by really fast and her legs had not yet started to ache. She stopped anyway to take her Ipod, yet another muggle miracle with a magical twist, out of the small backpack that she had put on after she changed. A new song came through the earplugs when she whispered the name. Muggles sure did have great taste in music. Naomi wasn't a generally depressed person but Naomi liked the music because it lessened the anger that she harbored away.

Before she knew it the song was over and she was pushing 1 mile Naomi said "random" when a song came on that she had never heard before. It had a catch to it and Naomi realized it was gospel. Many Magical people didn't believe in religion but she, on the other hand, did because one day she got a flyer in the muggle mail about how a man named Jesus had saved many people through his actions. Naomi started reading his story in a book that muggles called the Bible and it had started to reduce her stress. This man had even saved her life. One night she had reached a breaking point when her dad came home screaming about how he lost all of the family's money and he blamed it on her. Naomi went into the bathroom that day with a knife ready to end her own suffering but remembered the suffering of Jesus and found that it was wrong to end the life he gave her because of a stupid word or two from her father. That night she started to truly believe in the other forces.

Naomi was now at 1 and a half miles and she decided to run through as much of a CD as possible, when she hit the third song the 2 miles were over and she was back at her house again. The feeling of happiness that Naomi had gained when running was lost again when she entered the dank and dirty house. It was 4 in the afternoon and she finally went into the kitchen and grabbed herself a lunchable from the fridge to take back into the room. Naomi spent most of her time in there when she was at home, which was very little anyway. She had enrolled herself into muggle school, before the age of 11 when she went to Hogwarts, and from there Naomi applied for jobs in the summer keeping her in the house only on the weekends and at night.

Naomi shut the door and opened the nacho lunch pack and began to eat. When she finished 20 minutes later Naomi got her clothes together and got ready for a shower. After not being able to take a shower until now, she felt extremely dirty and decided to take an hour so she could get all of the dirt and grime off of her body.

Naomi stepped into the shower with her honey scented shampoo and conditioner as well as a bottle of cucumber melon soft soap. She lathered the shampoo in her hair and the room filled with the scent of honey. She let the water run through her hair and repeated the process one more time before conditioning. Naomi left it in and shaved her legs only getting one cut this time, which she used a healing balm to fix. Naomi was running low and would need to get some more at Hogsmeade. She finally rinsed the conditioner out and wrapped herself in a warm towel. She ended up taking longer than expected when she got out at 6 PM. Naomi quickly put on her clothes to avoid the cold and stepped out of the bathroom.

When she opened the door to her own room she found her mother sitting there with a "friend". She turned to Naomi and laughed.

"Looks like you're sleeping outside again tonight _hunny_!"

Naomi sneered silently to herself as she went over to her closet and grabbed a sleeping back and a heating unit. She walked back out of her room and slammed the door. Naomi screamed inside and started running, she had just reached the front door when she heard her mom swing the bedroom door open.

Naomi dropped her stuff in the neighboring yard and sprinted down the street, when she looked back Naomi froze in her spot. Naomi's mother had found her wand. She took the time and preformed 2 silent curses even though they were in a magical area. The first was silencio, which made Naomi's eyes turn white with fear. She knew the next curse that would be issued instantly even before it came, and when it did, it hit with full impact. The years that her mother had used the crucio curse on Naomi had developed her center of rage making each curse hit worse than the one before it. Naomi crumpled to the floor and saw the vision of Tammy, her sister, in her head again. Naomi relived her anguish, her breaking body; she knew the horrible feeling all too well. Naomi felt the rage that was put into the curse nag at her, practically saying 'you killed your sister, it was all your fault'. It felt as if Naomi's skin was being torn from her limb my limb and then it was like a knife was filleting her every muscle. It went on like this for 5 minutes and only intensified when her mother finally let up and left her lying there coated in blood and screaming inside.

Naomi wanted to speak, or move, but couldn't; not yet, she was too weak. Eventually the spell would go away leaving her able to speak again but it wouldn't be until morning. Naomi tried to slide herself to the sleeping bag but passed out before she got there because of the intense pain. Before she fainted, Naomi made a promise to herself that she would not be coming back no matter what anyone did or threatened to do. Naomi was not going to put herself in that position again. She would much rather kill herself, or try to.


	3. Troubles on the train

Chapter 3: Troubles on the Train

The next morning Naomi woke up to the chirping of birds and the pecking of squirrels in the nearby trees. The sun hit her face with its mocking heat. Naomi could still feel the pain in her body from the previous night but she put it away inside her mind in order to sneak into her room, through the window, to get her luggage. Naomi moved over to the window and tried to lift it up but found it locked. _No biggie_. She looked down at the bush below her crouched body and found the razor sharp leaf. She had cast a spell on 3 of the leaves in her 3rd summer and now they could break open the lock on her window and if it was magically locked than Naomi was screwed. She took the leaf and put it threw the crack where the lock was. Naomi heard a click and was able to open the pane. Her mother must have been too drunk to remember any other spells other than the crucio curse.

Naomi opened the window without a sound being issued and stepped in. She saw her mother's friend sleeping on the bed. Naomi poked her but nothing happened, she grabbed her suitcases one by one and took some handcuffs out of her drawer, two pairs. Naomi put one in a trunk and hooked the friend to the bed. When she had all of her trunks outside on the sidewalk, she then ran back to the window and crawled through. Naomi punched the friend in the face with so much force that she flew her eyes open, then she screamed at her, "That's what you get for taking my room, bitch!" The lady tried to grab her wand but then realized she was stuck, just in case, Naomi threw it across the room and jumped out the window.

Naomi ran to the curb as fast as she could when she saw that her mom had walked into the room to see what the commotion was. She stuck her right hand, fingers spread, and hopped on the Knight Bus. It was 9:30 and Naomi wasn't sure if they were still running but she gave it a shot and what do you know they were! Stan looked at Naomi and was about to start the welcome speech but she stopped him, "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard it." Naomi walked past and onto the back, there were now chairs because all of the beds that had been there the night before had magically vanished.

The bus picked up on speed and Naomi was on her way to Platform 9 ¾. The bus sped along but made constant stops to avoid pedestrians and let on more wizards. Finally when the clock struck 10 she was at King Cross and jumped off after handing Stan 12 sickles. Naomi grabbed all of her trunks and took the path to the platforms 9 and 10. She saw the dividing wall and looked around. All muggles were looking away as they would due to a spell that was placed on the wall. An officer came up to her and said, "Hogwarts Express?" Naomi nodded. The ministry had wizards working for the station just in case anything was to go wrong.

She proceeded through the barrier and placed her trunks against a wall adjacent to the opening. Naomi walked over to the bathroom and saw Fida flapping behind her so she let Fida in too. She looked at the oversized sink and stood in front while she opened the mirror above it, inside there were bottles of shampoo and conditioner for kids who needed to leave extra early and couldn't get a shower in. Naomi washed her hair quickly and would have dried it too but didn't because she wasn't able to do magic outside of school with her own wand.

Naomi exited the bathroom with Fida on her shoulder and found her trunks again; she then sat there waiting for the train. In the mean time Naomi opened a book and started to read to herself.

"She entered the door and an eerie feeling flew through her body. She knew something was messed up with the area. Jane walked around the corner of the kitchen and saw what she feared most of all. Her best friend, slash roommate, was lying on the floor with a knife pierced through her heart and over her was the murderer, laughing. Jane ducked under a counter but not before knocking a pan off the stove. It clattered on the floor loudly and her heart stopped. The Killer looked around the room and saw a foot print in the soup that was dropped. It was pointing straight at Jane and he laughed again."

"Well looks like we aren't so smart are we? Little Janie!" When he said her name he dropped his face to meet hers. She screamed and-"

The loudness in the platform was so intense now that she couldn't finish her book. Naomi slammed the book shut out of frustration and stood up. She knew that she didn't read that slow, but when she looked at the clock there were 10 minutes before the train would be there. Naomi freaked a little because she wasn't ready to go. She still had to make sure that she had everything, her trunks were behind her but where was Fida. The air chilled around her as she slipped on her favorite jacket. Naomi went back into the bathroom and looked around, no Fida in sight.

Naomi stepped back out and realized she only had 8 more minutes. She started running around asking people if they had seen her bird. All of them either looked at her funny or just said no. It went on for a long time, all the same questions and all of the same answers, "Have you seen my Owl? She is small and coos a lot." Naomi would ask, "No," they would answer.

Before Naomi realized it, the train sped into the platform and she really started to panic. Her bird was nowhere in sight. Fida was all she had. There were officers all around, and Naomi asked them all if they had seen Fida while she watched her own trunks get hauled away. Maybe she was in one of them, Naomi thought, but she knew she wasn't though. Naomi started to hyperventilate after she realized that she had lost her, she tried to search more of the platform but were stopped when an officer pushed Naomi on the train saying she was going to miss the train. Naomi argued but didn't win as he found her an empty compartment. Naomi began to cry but when the first tear drop hit her coat she heard a coo. She looked down and there she was, hiding in the jacket. She stopped crying immediately and scowled.

"I WAS LOOKING ALL OVER FOR YOU, YOU FILTHY WORTHLESS CREATURE." It seemed scared and cuddled back inside her jacket and Naomi remembered why she was put in Slytherin in the first place, her rage. Naomi unzipped the jacket and picked Fida up, stroking her back and cooed to her apologetically. She hugged the small animal and the door opened.

"Why were you yelling? Are you- whoa." The boy who stepped in said.

Naomi looked up and saw that he was blushing madly under his black hair. When he shook out of it he completed his sentence.

"Like I was saying, why are you screaming? Are you all right? And why on Earth are you petting that _thing_?"

Naomi looked down at her hands and saw that she was still petting Fida and answered his questions, "I was looking for her and she ended up hiding in my jacket I was mad that she hid from me. Yes I'm fine and this isn't a thing her name is Fida."

He nodded to Naomi as if apologizing for his rash actions and words.

"Blaise Andrew Zabini, a pleasure to meet you."

"Taylor Jennings, likewise." Speaking the obvious lie.

He asked if he could sit with her and she nodded. He sat down across from Naomi leaving 6 empty seats.

"I'm from Slytherin, you're not in _Gryffindor _are you?" he sneered. Naomi shook her head vigorously and told him that she was in the same house as he. He asked if she was an exchange but Naomi told him that she wasn't.

"Really? I've never seen you around before."

"Yes you have." He looked at Naomi questioningly and when she grabbed a robe out of her bag, since she felt like changing early, he recognized her immediately.

"You're that girl, um, Hope right? Yeah I know those robes from anywhere. GOSH! You've certainly changed." Blaise looked Naomi up and Naomi rolled her eyes.

"And you must be that extremely rude yet perverted boy Zabini. Wow you haven't changed one bit!" Naomi mocked and he scowled.

"Awe and there's the same feisty attitude we all love." He said sneering.

Naomi tried to get out of the room but he locked the door and shook his head.

"No, Draco and the gang will be here soon and he wouldn't be pleased if I were here alone, now would he?" He sneered. She glared at him and threw her clothes back in the trunk then threw herself back on the seat. Blaise smirked as if saying to himself, 'good girl'. She smirked back and kicked him super hard in the groin. He doubled over in pain while throwing ever curse word known to man at her. When he was able to stand straight again he grabbed his wand and pointed it at Naomi but before he could cast a spell he noticed someone trying to open the door. Blaise moved toward it and Draco walked through the threshold. She took the chance and stood up to leave but Draco pushed her back.

"Well who do we have here Blaise, you've seemed to catch a good one this time." He glanced over to Pansy and rolled his eyes. Naomi sneered and tried to move aside and get past but he stayed in front of her.

"So Blaise what's her name?" Draco asked. Naomi was now thoroughly offended, he should be asking you that question. She pushed him onto the seat and walked past through the door but not before being picked up off the floor and thrown into the wall by a spell.

Draco was now glaring at Naomi and Pansy was behind him trying to brush the dirt from his back.

"NOBODY and I mean NO ONE AT ALL treats me like that! Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Well it looks to me, like I just did, so I guess that means that I don't fall under your category and, its not who I think I am, it's who I know I am and that would be NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUISINESS!" He slapped her hard across the face and asked her yet again what her name was.

"I've told you once already, must I repeat myself, scum?" Naomi spit in his face. Blaise laughed and handed Draco his wand. She smiled inside; she knew Draco quite well and knew that he was going to do like her mother.

"Silencio!" He said with gusto. Naomi just smiled and waved which really seemed to tick him off. He threw an unforgivable curse at her. She felt pain ripple through her body but she didn't show it one bit. It was no where near her mother's curses. She just stood there shaking slightly but not opening her mouth; instead Naomi sat down, pulled out some cards, and set up a game of solitaire. This seemed to really tick him off and she knew it because he repeated the spell a second and third time. Naomi just sat there shaking and smiling in accomplishment after she had completed a row.

The rage in his eyes was unmistakable but within a minute he stopped and smiled.

"That's not going to get it out is it?" Naomi shook her head and he lifted the silencio spell, "This will, Imperio! _Tell me your name._" she had never been under this before and didn't know the power of it. All she could do was say her name. The intense thrill made her say it. The feeling was indescribable; it was like it filled her every want, her only want rather. It gave Naomi the feeling that she had her sister back.

"Well, isn't this nice, we have that little bitch from last year here in _our_ compartment and my have you grown!" He smirked, then looked Naomi up just as Blaise had done. "Blaise this one is mine you've got to find a different one. I know I can break her." Blaise looked downcast but Naomi, on the other hand, was livid; no one could break her, no one. He threw the jacket that she still had on, off of her to see his damage but what he found wasn't his. He saw the faint scars on her arms and for a spit second looked angry.

"So that's why you didn't crumble under my own curse, you have been enduring it for a long time and from, what seems like, a much stronger wizard." He threw her jacket back at Naomi and shoved her on the floor. She tried to get back up but the look he gave her made her reconsider. She knew that his power was much greater than what he demonstrated today. With his father and Voldemort combined, Draco must have had lessons; otherwise he would never have learned the curse in the first place. Naomi saw a faint line on his wrist as he held his hand on her shoulder, like the tail of a snake. He was one of them, a deatheater, the kind of people that killed her sister, the kind of people that her own parents were becoming, and the kind of person that Naomi swore never to be!

_She saw the eyes of hell and spat back._


	4. A Place to Hide

Chapter 4: A Place to Hide

Naomi broke the gaze from his arm. It was only 10:57 and she wasn't going to reach Hogwarts until 8:00. That meant that she had 9 hours to endure with this group of people. Naomi decided to sit down and pull out a new book while the group talked eagerly about the upcoming school year. She heard her name called a couple of times to enter the conversation but she ignored them and read on.

Naomi was almost to the end of the book when she looked at her watch, 4 hours had past. Naomi was surprised that Draco had done nothing to her the entire time. She didn't have long before his patience with her had finally fallen through. He let out a huff of air and ordered everyone to leave after calling her name for the 29th consecutive time, telling them not to come in until they heard from him. Naomi gladly got up but only succeeding in being pushed down again by Crabb.

"Not you, Hope." Draco said thoroughly agitated. Naomi could tell in his voice that he was not used to being ignored. The last of the group had left the room and the door slammed behind her. She noticed that Draco had given his wand back to Zabini so Naomi took this chance to put a 10 minute charm on it that disabled any sound from coming out of the room. What she didn't know is that her screams might be the thing that would save her in that period of time.

He stood up, his face hot with anger. Naomi just looked up at him with the purest look of disgust that sent shivers down his spine, but he didn't show it. He kept inching toward Naomi and she stuck her hands into her pocket making a fist. Time suddenly sped up and she realized that he was a few inches from her. No telling what was going through his mind at that moment. For a split second Naomi thought his eyes changed from icy blue to a flaming red.

He raised his arm and she saw the muscles flex. No doubt that he was going to beat her. He hit Naomi square in the jaw and she fell to the floor with him kicking her in the side. Again and again the pain rippled through her body. Naomi would have used her wand but when she fell to the floor it fell out of her hand and Draco kicked it to the other side of the room. Naomi felt the blood run down her face and Naomi's vision got progressively cloudier. She reached back into her pocket and felt the smooth metal of a blade. She pulled out the box cutter and flipped open the blade, slowly standing up. Draco's eyes flashed with fear for a second then went back to normal. He reached into his pocket expecting his wand to be there, when he found out it wasn't his eyes drained of their color again. He turned around to grab for Naomi's wand but she caught his shirt with the blade and ripped it.

"Go any closer and I swear the blade will go deeper Malfoy! You will learn not to mess with me," she said with the most sinister look on her face. Draco just rubbed it off and tried to test her. He took one step to the right near the door and Naomi flew her arm out. The blade caught his shoulder and cut through very deep. Naomi was surprised when she heard him scream in agony. Confused Naomi looked at the blade and immediately she knew why he was in so much physical pain. This wasn't Naomi's blade it was her mother's, Naomi's mother had used the blade on her before and if she ever had a choice between it and the crucio curse she would pick the curse without hesitation. The blade held the pain of crucio seven fold. Draco fell to the floor grabbing at his shoulder in anguish while Naomi just laughed without sympathy for his crumpled up body.

"Now Malfoy unless you want me to do it again you will tell all of them, outside of the door, to find another compartment at the other side of the train and you will not give them a single hint as to why. You should know that I have no problem in killing you." It was a complete lie but Draco believed her so he yelled through the door for the group to find another place to sit. She was lucky that the spell wore off just after he stopped screaming. When Naomi heard every one of them go she left the compartment, leaving him there on the floor, with a warning that he best not follow her. She grabbed her luggage and wand and ran down to the end of the train but found no empty compartments so she decided to stay in the bulk luggage compartment for the rest of the ride.

Naomi was worried that Fida had stayed behind but was reassured when she saw her peep out of the trunk when she opened it. Fida must have gotten in the trunk when Naomi took her robes out. Realizing that she still hadn't changed, Naomi took her robes back out, and making sure nobody was in the large room, she changed.

Naomi threw her other clothes into a bag and decided to wash them when she got back to the dorms. Naomi took her book back out of her trunk and started to read it, she only had about 10 pages left anyway.

"Everyone was standing around a coffin, crying. Jane looked so peaceful now. Nobody understood how she had died. Only a note from an anonymous person had explained the horrible occurrence. Well you wouldn't call it a note it was actually a book, a book that had detailed her life, somehow someone had turned her poor life into a horror story. The mother was still crying as she pictured the last line in the story. 'And the murderer started her remembrance with these few words. And so my life started with a dreadful birth.' The mother had read that before somewhere. It was in Jane's diary. Jane had made her own life a horror. There had been no murderer, only an imaginary figure. Jane had feared herself so she took herself out. Jane was the murderer and now the family had to deal with it."

Naomi was so confused, the story ended so weird, it made no sense. She was mad that she had spent her time reading such a crummy story and slammed the book down. Something stuck out from under the cover of the book. Naomi was curious so she picked it up; it was a library slip with the name Tammy "Fida" Hope on it, on the reverse side it had a note written in blood, still wet.

"You can't get away Hope. You never will." Naomi couldn't withhold the urge to touch it and the minute she did she heard a voice inside her head screaming 'NO'! It was Tammy's. Was this note meant for her? And why was it still wet? Was it dark magic?

Naomi heard people running down the hallway of the train, opening and shutting every compartment door. She knew exactly who it was when they got close enough. Draco and his group of friends slammed a compartment door and the neighboring ones occupants opened theirs. Naomi could tell by the voice that a boy stepped out.

"Malfoy what the HELL are you doing? Don't you know that there are people here trying to live peacefully? And I'm sorry to admit, but it is IMPOSSIBLE to do that with you rampaging through the train!"

Naomi could feel in her heart that Draco was smirking

"Potter, why don't you just shut your trap and let me in, I am looking for someone." Maybe Draco tried to get into the compartment because the next thing Naomi heard was someone being pushed to the ground and Potter sounding disgusted, telling him to stay out.

"And just why would we have one of your friends in our compartment then?" a female voice spat.

Obviously Draco had decided to leave feeling that if he looked everywhere and Naomi wasn't anywhere to be seen than she mustn't be in Harry's compartment. He was inching closer and closer with only three compartments in between them both. That's when Naomi knew that she needed to hide. First she threw her luggage in different locations. Draco got louder for a second but it softened again. Naomi was done and now all she had to do was hide her self and her bird. She stuck Fida in her jacket and moved around the compartment. There was nowhere to hide! It was like Tetris; every place was packed high with trunks. Naomi heard something crack and she realized Draco was one compartment away and she was in a big open compartment with nowhere to hide.

Naomi started to panic but not long before she felt something hit her in the head and its slimy contents rolled down her back. She turned around and saw a boy there about a half foot taller that her with a scar on his forehead.

"Normally I wouldn't be willing to help out a Slytherin but in your case I can make an exception. What did you do to rally Malfoy up so bad?"

"What do you mean help me? All you did was making me all slimy!"

"Look at yourself" Naomi looked down and noticed that there WAS no "you". Before she could ask a question he shut her up.

"No time for extra questions he is raiding the last compartment now how did you rally him up?"

Blushing Naomi said, "I stabbed him, well stabbed him with a little extra help from a potion my mom made. It stings really badly, about 7 times the pain of the crucio curse."

Draco slammed the door to the last compartment and was opening the luggage compartment. Harry disillusioned himself and Naomi both crowded around a group of particularly large pink fuzzy trunks.

Draco was moving around trunks and opening the ones that sat on the top of the stacks. He was moving closer and closer. Harry grabbed Naomi's hand and tugged her along slowly behind Draco to one of the places that he had already looked. They passed behind Draco quietly without him knowing. 30 minutes had passed and he had looked everywhere in the large room. He decided to leave and search the very last compartment, the one Goyle was guarding.

The door to the compartment shut and Harry took out his wand and erased the spell on them both.

"Thanks for all of your help. You would be amazed if you knew exactly how much you helped." Harry just blushed. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight that shimmered in on the two of them.

"No problem, do you want to sit with my friends and I after Malfoy leaves out own compartment? Ron and Hermione might be a bit hostile for a bit but that's normal for them since you aren't in Gryffindor." Naomi nodded shyly. Hostile or not, friends was exactly what she needed right now.

They both heard Draco exit when he was yelling at Goyle saying that he let her get away. Both Naomi and Harry laughed at the ironic fight. Draco was the one that let her get away. They both knew that it was safe after 5 minutes because the yelling had died down and their compartment was at the front of the train. Harry grabbed her hand once more and she felt the warmth radiate. They both walked down to the compartment to find an angry faced girl and a blushing red head.

"HARRY, HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE LIKE THAT? DRACO CAME BACK IN HERE AND RAMSACKED OUR COMPARTMENT!"

Harry laughed, "That hot head right there would be Hermione, the red head behind her is Ron, and the girl behind him, the one reading, is Luna Lovegood." Naomi laughed when he whispered in her ear that he was counting down the days until Hermione and Ron tied the knot.

Hermione looked at her green robes in utter disgust but stopped her evil eyed looks when Harry explained the problem. Naomi introduced herself to all of the people in the compartment and sat down after throwing her luggage over head into the rack. There would be an hour until they got to Hogwarts and that meant Naomi had an hour to make friends.

It was an easy bonding with Luna and Hermione since they both had a passion for reading, the same with Ron and Harry who loved Quidditch. They all sat in the compartment talking for the rest of the trip. Every once in a while Naomi noticed Harry eyeing her.

Hogwarts was only 10 minutes away and they all had to dress. Hermione took out a sheet from her trunk and drew the clothing line across the compartment. She then draped the sheet over it and both the girls and the boys got dressed in the privacy of their side. Naomi could feel the train coming to a stop so she grabbed her luggage. All of them exited the compartment and started the walk to the exit at the front of the train. Maybe Naomi could avoid Draco and his gang one last time before she had to go to the common room.


	5. Torture and Tattoos

Chapter 5: Torture and Tattoos

They all exited the train with their luggage. The castle loomed ahead and Naomi remembered the first time she had set foot on the grounds. It was so beautiful. The grounds were so vast and she could still remember to this day all of the kids running around worried that they didn't do their homework to the teacher's standards.

To this day she still laughed at how many people procrastinated but then again some people actually had lives at home outside of school. Naomi followed Harry and Ron on the dirt path up to the carriages while Luna went up to pet the horses that drew it. Ron just laughed and said that she would always pet thin air. She climbed into the carriage and Naomi was right behind her. Hermione sat across from the other girls and in between Harry and Ron.

"Luna? I noticed you petting one of the horses. Don't they scare you? I'm sorry that you are able to see them." Naomi passed her the note and then received one back soon afterwards.

"Yeah I was petting them they are pretty nice really. And no they don't scare me; they did at first when I came here but I've grown accustom to them. Its ok it's I, who should be sorry, I heard about your sister, it is most unfortunate. Harry can see them too!" The last thing caught Naomi off guard. Harry could see them too? Then she thought about it and remembered what happened the previous year. He was there when Voldemort killed Cedric; Naomi immediately felt bad for him.

Naomi caught eye of Luna writing another letter. It was pretty long but when she was finished she folded it up and waited a while for Ron to start fighting with Hermione that's when she passed it to Harry. What could it say? Naomi watched him read the letter out of the corner of her eye. With each passing word his eyes grew more sympathetic. Naomi grew worried, had Luna's letter been about her? Well she would soon find out because they were finally at the front door of the castle.

The carriage came to a rugged stop and Ron ran out of the carriage with Hermione closely following. Luna opened the other side of the carriage and jumped out screaming at Hermione to wait up. Naomi was getting out too but she felt a strong arm on her shoulder. Harry stopped Naomi from getting out of the car.

"Is it true, what Luna wrote about your sister?" Naomi nodded, "I'm so sorry that you had to see that. It's hard I know. I can't fathom the pain of watching that happen." Naomi didn't want to hear anymore sympathy because she got enough of it at the wake that she hadn't attended the funeral.

"Harry I know your concern but don't sympathize ok?" He nodded and let her go. Naomi waited for him outside the car and when he got out as well they both walked up to the castle. They received horrible looks from both the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses; Naomi guessed that they didn't like the fact that she and Harry were walking together.

Naomi didn't really feel like going to the feast so when they both got to the Great Hall Naomi kept walking in the direction of the dungeons. Harry continued inside the Great Hall to eat with his friends. Naomi decided to take the long way just so that she could take the time to think. She started to skip like she was five again but when she stopped Naomi heard extra thuds. Confused, Naomi stopped and looked around. She started to walk again and the sound was gone. Thinking quickly she stopped and there were another two foot steps before the sound was gone again. Someone must have been following her. Fear pulsed through her body as she asked herself why she had taken the long way. Evidently whoever was following Naomi knew that she knew they were there because they didn't even wait for Naomi to start walking again before they started to swiftly walk toward her.

Naomi looked around but couldn't see anyone immediately she started running. Naomi turned right, then right again, then left, and up some stairs. The person, even though she couldn't see who they were, followed in hot pursuit. Naomi whipped her head around again to see if they were there but when she turned back around Naomi was face to face with a wall and an empty portrait. Naomi saw a blade appear from nowhere and she saw the initials GH on them. They were her mother's knife she knew the blood red initials from anywhere. After seeing the knife she knew who was chasing her. She must have dropped the knife in the compartment because now it was in the hands of the pursuer.

The blade slashed at Naomi grabbing onto her shirt, it ripped through her sleeve leaving exposed flesh. The person ripped off the green cloak that hid their face. Draco stood there, eyes red, and smirking.

"Well who do we have here? I bet you loved this knife huh? Well I thank you for the gift and I think I finally know how to repay you!" He smiled evilly and jabbed the knife at Naomi playfully. Then he inched closer to her and flicked of the top button of her shirt with the knife. Fear pulsed through Naomi's veins as each button came off and all that was left was an undershirt. He then lifted up the bottom and traced the knife along her bare stomach.

"Let's see what can I do to get my message… etched… into your memory?" He smiled again and took Naomi by the arm. She wanted to scream not knowing what he was going to do but before Naomi could even open her mouth he turned around and shook his finger at her.

"Now that wouldn't be very smart would it?" He continued to drag Naomi until they had made so many turns that Naomi wasn't sure where they were anymore; not that she had any idea to begin with. He paced in front of a wall 3 times muttering 'silent' over and over. A door appeared at he shoved Naomi inside following behind after making sure nobody had seen them.

"Now you can scream, Hope. Scream all you want because nobody will hear you. Welcome to my playground." Naomi just now looked around the room. There were all sorts' tables with cuffs. She tried to run to the door but he grabbed her by the waist and threw her onto the nearest table. One by one he chained the girl down and when he was finished he flipped Naomi over exposing her back to the blade.

"What happens when little girls are bad Hope? They get spanked. But why hit you when I can whip you?" Naomi struggled under the chains while Draco grabbed a long leather strap muttering "Looks like these muggles were good for something. He hit Naomi hard with the strap repeatedly and Naomi could feel it gash into her back and felt the blood roll down her back. The pain was mild but incessant. It wouldn't be like that for long because when he felt it was enough he took a knife and ripped the back of the shirt exposing her back completely. He then took out the knife and on the lower right hand side of her back he etched in a very intricate design making many detailed lines. He worked like an artist, and she was his tortured masterpiece. Each new line pushed a new scream from her body, making her body convulse in such extreme pain that she would have grabbed the blade herself, if she could, and slit her throat. There was no better place right now. She only wished that she could teleport herself away or die inside to escape the torture.

He finally finished after 30 minutes of the torture but he wasn't done. He conjured up something and spun the table to an upright position and rolled her infront of a mirror showing Naomi his work. Naomi looked, not entirely wanting to, across the bottom of her back was a dragon. _Draco_. It made perfect since, Draco's name was Latin for Dragon. After seeing the realization in her eyes he flipped the revolving tabletop to a flat position again and poured a sizzling hot substance over the design. You screamed in agony as the liquid burned into the wound. He them preformed his only act of mercy that night. You heard a healing spell issue from his mouth and then thought it was over. He flipped the table again and you looked at your flesh, expecting to see nothing. Your mouth dropped as you saw the clear as day design; he had poured ink into the wound and healed it giving you a perfect tattoo with a horrible story.

"TAKE IT OFF, TAKE IT OFF YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Naomi started to panic but it wasn't over yet. He flipped the table for the last time and unstrapped you only to turn your weak, limp body over and strapped you in again. He moved the tattered shirt to expose your stomach and with the very tip of the blade he stabbed your body about a centimeter deep, the end result after you collapsed from the pain was a very bloody "DM". Still Draco wasn't finished with her but Naomi didn't know how much more her body could take.

"That knife has a potion on it that was hard to find, but Snape has everything." Naomi looked at the gray bottle filled to the brim with a gray liquid. The fear that filled her body gave her strength as she started to fight back she even managed to loosen the chains that bound her body, but Draco grabbed hold of them and pulled them tight then reinforcing them with leather belts. Naomi remembered the potion well, her mom took 5 knifes and doused them with only 10 ml of the potion. Draco didn't have 10 milliliters; he had what looked like an entire pint. Naomi knew that if this wasn't the last of her pain than she would be feeling it for weeks, if not months, to come.

Draco moved the shirt that covered her stomach and one gash at a time poured the potion over her back. It was like he had stuck his hands in Naomi and ripped her skin from her body. The scream that was protruded was that of no other human. Naomi could feel her heart stop as she pushed all the air out of her burning lungs and out of her sore throat. Draco seemed satisfied with the damage and when Naomi was too weak to fight back any longer he leaned over her and then he kissed her.

"Let this be a reminder that nobody can ever beat me. Now be a good little girl and don't tell or I will schedule another play date." His words were so sinister that they sent a shiver up the girl's spine. He unchained Naomi and threw her over his shoulder then draped a towel over her back covering the exposed flesh. The movement caused her to black out but before it happened she saw the clock on the wall point to 2:00 AM. Draco must be taking her to the Common room.

Sometime during the night Naomi woke up in a cool sweat. Her body was aching horribly and every bone in her body wanted to say, 'This is a dream… just a horrible dream.' But life didn't always give her what she wanted. She looked down at the shirt that she was wearing. It was black, not the shirt she came into Hogwarts wearing. Naomi tried to sit up a bit but found it horribly painful, like the shirt was stuck to an open wound. The girl looked closer and saw a dark spot on the shirt; it was like she was still bleeding when Draco redressed her. The thought of his hands on her body made Naomi gag.

Carefully, though acutely painful, Naomi peeled the bloody shirt off and strolled over to the mirror. Tenderly touching her abdomen she traced the wound. The tattoos she never wanted. Naomi walked over to her dresser and looked at the wall. Imprinted in the paint was the time 5:30. She grabbed a towel and a new pair of clothes and set them in the bathroom. Breakfast was going to start in half an hour so she still had time to grab a shower. Looking in the vast bathroom Naomi found the cubbyholes used to store the girl's toiletries.

"Accio toiletries." Naomi said in the darkness. They flew into her outstretched hands and Naomi packed them into the hole. Naomi hadn't thought ahead as she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a great amount of soaps, shampoos, and conditioners come flying at her. There was nothing Naomi could do as they pelted her in the back, luckily that was the spot that Draco had so 'graciously' healed for her. Finally the last bottle fell to the floor and Naomi felt her back begin to bruise. Quietly she gathered up as many of the bottles as she possibly could and put them neatly in the trunk then slid it back under her bed.

Naomi ran back into the bathroom and took the towel off as she stepped into the steaming water. It pounded on her skin soothingly as she massaged her scalp with the cucumber shampoo. She rinsed it out and after she had applied the conditioner Naomi washed her body trying to get as close as she could to the wound without touching it. When she rinsed off she grabbed the towel from the warmer then before dressing she conjured some bandages and wrapped the wound in order to keep blood off the shirt. After 5 minutes Naomi was dressed and ready to go to breakfast.

Naomi walked out and checked the time, 5:53; that left her enough time to get down to the great hall. Since classes started at 9 the next day she figured that the other girls in the dorm were going to sleep in a tad bit longer. She walked down the stairs to the common room to see a form slumped over and sleeping on the couch. As Naomi walked by she saw the slick straight blond hair and her blood pressure rose, but then on the floor was an empty bottle of fire whiskey. _No chance in him waking up any time soon_. He must have downed a gallon during the course of the night. Naomi walked past and through the portrait.

The icy breeze of the dungeons collided with her face as she walked through to the main stairs. Naomi was finally out of the dungeons and up to the entrance of the great hall when the walls vibrated along the doors symbolizing that breakfast has started. The doors magically opened and the benches scooted out. A group of 3rd year Hugglepuff girls, judging by their giggling, were coming down to breakfast as well. Naomi took as seat at the far end of the Slytherin table and grabbed a piece of toast off a plate near by. Anytime now she would be getting her class schedule.


	6. Pleasant and not so Pleasant Surprises

Chapter 6: Pleasant and not so Pleasant Surprises

Some owls were already coming in looking for their recipients. They weren't family owls, but the Hogwarts school owls. Looking at the design of the envelopes Naomi could tell that they were times tables. A particularly old looking bird flew up to Naomi and landed, far from gracefully. He knocked over a nearby pitcher of pumpkin juice but it quickly evaporated into the table. Naomi grabbed the note from its mouth ad stuck a sickle in the pouch before it flew off. She didn't have to tip the bird considering it was a school owl but Naomi thought she would donate a little something to the school.

Flipping over the postcard-sized letter, Naomi looked at the table

Hope, Naomi, 5th year Slytherin (1.5 hour class)

TIMES TABLES FOR 95-96 YEAR

Monday: DADA, HERBOLOGY, POTIONS, CHARMS

Tuesday: DIVINATION, RUNES, H.O. MAGIC, ARITHMACY

Wednesday: TRANSFIGURATION, STUDY HALL, POTIONS, CHARMS

Thursday: DADA, HERBOLOGY, ARTS, ARITHMACY

Friday (extra day): TRANSFIGURATION, RUNES, H.O. MAGIC, ASTRONOMY

Note: break between 1st and 2nd classes. Lunch after 2nd class, Dinner after 4th class. If you have astronomy the class starts at 12 midnight, substitute that class square for study hall or break.

Naomi laughed at the schedule. _I am taking every class offered!_ Naomi stuck the postcard back in the envelope with little trouble and then saw the trio walk in. They sat fairly close to her and Naomi over heard Hermione nagging at Ron and Harry at there empty Friday column. Naomi laughed and obviously Harry heard because he called her over. At first she was hesitant, incase some Slytherin were to come in but then she realized that they were probably all sleeping in anyway.

Naomi walked over and sat down across from Hermione. She saw the table sticking out of her bag and grabbed for it.

"See Harry, Ron; you both need to be more like Naomi here. She is taking just about every class… TWICE! Oh Naomi I would have switched out Divination for Care of Magical Creatures."

Naomi laughed. _I'd be better off with divination._ To be honest Hagrid scared the living daylights out of her. Naomi grabbed her own schedule back as well as Hermione's and notice that she had Hermione in about half of her classes. The walls vibrated again and Naomi saw that the time was now 6:30. _So much for sleeping in_. Some Slytherins were coming in through the door for breakfast. Naomi quickly said goodbye to the group telling them she was going to go to the library, Naomi didn't know what would happen if she was caught with Harry and the other two.

Naomi got up to leave and was about half way down the table when Hermione called after her. Naomi looked back at her and saw a letter in her hand. Confused she walked back. Naomi had taken her schedule with her, what had she forgotten?

She was back down at the end of the table and Hermione handed Naomi the letter. It was very decorative and had candy stickers everywhere. Harry told her that it had to be from Dumbledore. Naomi opened the letter and read its contents silently to herself.

Dear Ms. Hope,

These past few years of having you in my school I have come to realize your potential and the caring personality you show to those around you. It is the perfect personality for a student. I had been watching over you last year and you didn't show one sign of irresponsibility so it is my pleasure to inform you that you, Naomi Hope, have been chosen to represent this school as head girl. Will you except?

Unconsciously Naomi whispered the word yes and the once flat envelope bulged. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were all confuzzled (teehee my own touch) at her expression, until she turned the envelope over of course. Out came a silver badge with the letters HG – Naomi Hope on them. And taped under the badge was another letter.

Dear Ms. Hope,

I am very pleased to hear of your acceptance and would like to inform you of the new privilege that I have recently instated. You may select a fellow female student to room with you during your stay this year. I would also like to inform you that this year's head boy is Mr. Potter should he accept. He shall also bring along a friend and I am sure to believe that his choice will be Mr. Weasley.

If Naomi's mouth hadn't been gaping it sure was now. She passed the letter to Hermione and as she read it through her mouth also dropped. Naomi asked her if she wanted to room with her. She was shocked that Naomi chose her but accepted nonetheless. Now both boys were itching to know. Both Naomi and Hermione just looked at each other and asked Harry if he had received any mail.

"Other than my schedule, no I haven't. Wait, there is something… something taped on the back." Harry ripped it off the back and read the note. His eyes grew wide as he read each word, just as Naomi's had. He finished and looked up to Hermione then to Naomi. He couldn't believe it. His letter bulged and he took out his own badge that read HB – Harry Potter. He tore the note from the back and laughed when he finished it.

"Dumbledore warned me not to mess with Malfoy or my privilege will be revoked. Hey Ron you know you are going to be all alone in the Gryffindor tower now right? Man wipe that frown off, I'm just kidding YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" The boys continued to play fight until a particular Slytherin came to the table and ruined the fun.

"I would hate to ruin the excitement. But I've come to fetch Hope here. You see she is not a Gryffindor and therefore does not belong here. Hope come with me I'm sure you don't want to '_play'_ around with this group." His emphasis on the word caused pain to course through her bones. Naomi nodded as she left them. The courage that she once had when facing Draco was now gone. He dragged her away from them and Naomi shot Hermione, who was looking thoroughly confused, a look of pure fear.

When Naomi was far enough away, and the group had turned their heads, Draco dragged her out into the hallway. Obviously no one had noticed because the door remained closed. Draco dragged her to the end of the corridor and down to the dungeons. He turned into a dark corner and finally turned his head to speak, Naomi could still smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Even though you are Head Girl, and believe me I know that Harry is ordered not to mess with me, doesn't mean that you can order me around. Am I correct?" Naomi nodded. "Good so we have an understanding. Ok if I hear a single word come out of your mouth about me to another person, I will find out, and the last night will be relived. I must admit though. Hearing you scream was pure ecstasy to me. I don't mind doing it again." Naomi knew he wasn't kidding, when he finished gloating, he forcefully kissed her. The alcohol was strong and Naomi did the most stupid thing, she tried to fight back. He broke away and the frightened girl saw the fire in his eyes.

Within seconds he had her shirt lifted up and the bandage moved away. With one hand he held her frail arms above her head and with one leg he locked her feet in place. With his free hand he pressed hard on the wound and a scream emitted from her extremely tired throat. It reopened and some blood flowed onto his hand. He finally let go and did something Naomi had not expected he would do; he licked the blood straight from his hand.

"Sweet…" He said in a highly disturbing way. He let go of Naomi's aching arms and when he stepped away from her she crumpled to the floor. Naomi watched as he walked down the corridor and back to the great hall. Tears started to flow down her cheeks and she sat there shaking. Naomi felt to wall behind her vibrate again. Was it 7 already? Naomi knew she had to get ready for her classes but she couldn't muster enough strength to get up. Instead she just sat there in a heap as blood continued to flow.

Finally she pulled herself to a sitting position. As Naomi pulled her sack from her back she looked for something sharp and finally after searching through the whole thing she found a scraper (something used to cut the end of a quill to make is sharper). Naomi lifted up her shirt and saw the bleeding initials that Draco had given her. Under any other circumstances Naomi would have never thought of this but, in her mind, it had to be done. She lowered the sharpened part to the wound and started cutting, deeper and deeper, all Naomi wanted to do was hide away the initial and the only way she knew how was to scratch it out, literally.

The pain was overwhelming. So she put the bloody scraper back and wiped her hands on the edge of her robes. However, the movement had caused the pain to intensify and as Naomi tried to stand up in order to get back to the dorm she collapsed completely. Right before Naomi blacked out she saw something glimmer and then multiple feet began rushing to her and multiple voices calling her name.

Hermione's POV

Naomi had just scared Hermione with the look that she flashed. She turned around to Harry and Ron.

"I can't believe her. Ditching us for Draco, wow Harry you sure can pick um'." Ron said in disbelief. Hermione was unusually solemn and Harry took notice.

"Hermione? What's wrong? I'm sorry about Hope I was sure that she hated Draco and yet she chose to run off with him."

Hermione shook her head. I wish it were because she chose to do it. Hermione thought. "Ron shut up and Harry you too! Didn't you see the look she gave me?" both boys shook their heads, "I think Naomi is in trouble."

With that said, Hermione whipped around to scan for Naomi, but she was nowhere in sight. Hermione dashed for the door with Harry and a reluctant Ron close behind. Ron was whining for her to slow down but she ignored them. Hermione ran down many hallways looking left and right. They had gone down what seemed like 5 corridors but then Hermione saw Draco turn a corner and started walking the other way. The smirk on his face sent chills through her body. She waited for him to go out of sight and she ran the length of the hall until she reached where he had turned. _Just another dark hallway_. Hermione thought defeated but when Harry caught up to her his badge caught light and reflected it into the hallway.

Hermione saw something shine as the light caught it. That's when the whole corridor seamed to light up as Hermione saw the body of Naomi hit the floor. All of them ran after her screaming her name.

_And so the light fled her eyes as heard the voice from Hell._


	7. A New Place to Stay

Ok so this chapter is a filler. I needed to do something in class. It's not that important and probably really bad. Just giving you a heads up.

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Chapter 7: A New Place to Stay.

Naomi woke up to blinding lights and the morning hustle and bustle of the hospital wing. She propped herself up on one elbow and searched the room for someone that she actually knew, no luck. Naomi threw herself down onto the small cot in frustration and obviously the nurse heard her as she came scuffling across the room toward Naomi with a potion in hand.

"Good you're awake. I told your friends that they needed to get onto class. They protested but finally left. So how are you feeling dear?" Naomi would have answered her too had she not started poking her like she was lime-flavored Jell-O. Naomi started to laugh as she hit a particular ticklish spot and that seemed to have answered her question. She shoved her clothes at her and told her to get dressed and ready for her first class.

Naomi was confused; maybe she had meant second or third class. She looked at the watch on her wrist and with no doubt it was only 8:50. Maybe she had slept through the entire day; nope it was still September 2. Naomi closed the curtains around the bed and changed and ready to go to Defense against the Dark Arts. She said goodbye to Madame Pomfrey and headed out the door towards the main staircase.

Naomi took the stairs to the third floor and down the hallway to the heavy wooden doors leading into the vast classroom. Who is teaching it this time? Naomi wondered as she passed through the doors. She looked around the room and her eyes fell upon a sweet looking woman. Soon, Naomi realized how wrong she was as the teacher's nice smile turned into a scowl. 'Sit down' was all she managed to croak out. _It's a shame how beauty can be wasted and given to a toad_. She saw the teacher flick a wand around and a thick packet appeared on every desk. Naomi flipped through it while other kids walked through the doors.

The green robes sat down as well as a few yellows. The teacher stood up in the middle of class; she cleared her throat and whipped her wand on a nearby desk to grab everyone's attention.

"My name is Professor Lewis and I expect everyone here to know the everyday procedures of a usual class. However, that knowledge will not be needed here, I want no questions, it will all be explained in the small hand out on your desks." She finished and sat down and a couple of hands fell as well.

Naomi looked at the inch thick packet of standard parchment sitting in front of her. Hardly a small handout, I would lean more toward a book or novel. Naomi flipped to the first page and started reading. This was going to be a long day.

Finally, an hour and thirty minutes later, the bell tolled for the end of class. Naomi was halfway through the thick packet that contained bios, procedures, the curriculum, and many other things. No matter how much she wanted to say that it was stupid she couldn't help but admire the woman's sense of organization. Naomi was packing up as she told everyone that classes wouldn't begin till the next week and that the homework, a summary of each section in the packet, was due next lesson. Naomi exited the room and decided to look for Hermione so that they could both move down to the Head Girl's dorm. It wasn't hard to find her as she knew her routine. Naomi took a direct route to the library and looked for the table with the highest pile of books. She hadn't walked far before Naomi saw her crouched behind a Muggle Studies book dictating all of the mistakes in the articles.

"Hermione lets go. We need to move into the dorm!" Her head shot up with excitement. Naomi had never seen someone put books back as fast as Hermione had that day. There must have been at least 30 different volumes with homes spread far across the library but they were up and out of there in less than 5 minutes.

They both walked to the Dungeons first since it was on the way. Naomi whispered the derogatory name to the portrait to where Hermione hadn't heard. She was glad that 'mudblood' never had to escape her mouth again. Quickly Naomi accio'd all of her things and were out of the cold dorm in a flash. She levitated her things through the hall and up the spiral staircase to the Gryffindor common room and waited patiently for Hermione to grab all of her things and leave notes all around the room to her friends.

She finally came out a few minutes later and they headed up another flight of stairs and down to a door she had never noticed before (with the help of a house elf of course). Naomi looked at Hermione and realized that neither of them knew the password. That's when the House Elf took Naomi's hand and placed it on the doorknob. It instantly turned and Naomi understood that the door knew who she was.

"Wait, I want to see if it allows Hermione in first." Naomi said to the House Elf who was pushing the door open. Hermione looked at Naomi and put her hand on the door, nothing. She left her hand on the door in defeat but what happened next was so fast that it didn't register.

Right there in the middle of the door was a badge that read AHG and under it said Hermione Granger. Naomi realized that it was making the badge and figuring out who it was. Hermione looked in awe as she snapped the badge to her robes and tried again. Sure enough the door clicked. Together they both pushed the door open, and with a crowd gathering, looked in awe and a new hallway decorated elegantly. They both walked inside the corridor and turned around to let in the elf and close the door on the distraught students.

The elf lead them threw to the back of the long hall to a door that said HG – AHG dormitory. Beneath it read Naomi Hope and Hermione Granger, decorated in hearts and books. Hansin, the house elf, explained to them that the head boys could come in but only if the girls had allowed them to by manipulating the locks. Nodding, Naomi and Hermione placed their hands on the heavy wood and this time it opened by itself.

Naomi gasped at the vastness of the room and laughed to herself about what she would have done had she not accepted the position. Together they both walked through to the pink room, _I wish it was white instead_. And to her surprise the walls turned white. _Wow our own choice of decoration, this would be a good prank to pull on the boys_. Naomi continued on through the room and found two great beds, both queen-sized, two empty bookshelves and two desks. Hermione obviously wanted to try out the trick because instantly the walls were striped with Crimson and Green.

"Hermione if you want to do it that way make it crimson and silver, green is tacky." Both girls laughed. She changed it making it look tons better. Naomi got excited and screamed to Hermione that she called the left side and ran to the bed. She jumped up on it and lay down. It was diffidently more comfortable than the cots that they got back in the dorms. Hermione grabbed Naomi by the legs telling her that they should look at the rest of the hall.

Both girls exited the room after depositing their belongings and continued up the hall. So far it seemed like all of the girls rooms were on the left side. Hansin opened the first room that they came to and found a full library. Naomi and Hermione, being book lovers, rushed in and started flipping through many of the books on the first row they came to.

"It might not be as big as the main library, but god does it have good books! Maybe we have a direct route!" Naomi saw the joy in her eyes as she picked up The Magical Runes Encyclopedia, by Herbert Holmes. If they had a library, Naomi couldn't imagine what was in the last two rooms.

The House Elf seemed to grow proud as they approached the 3rd door and when he opened the door Hermione sighed, there before her was a line of house elves in a small kitchen. Hermione seemed upset but when she saw a particular elf she lightened up. Naomi on the other hand knew that the elves liked to work when they had good conditions. Of course she would attempt to help at any possibility since Naomi loved to cook. Hansin shut the door as both Naomi and Hermione walked off.

They both stepped up to the last door and found it had special locks, it needed a password. The elf took Hermione's hand and placed it on the door as well as instructing her to recite the password butter buttons. The door flung open to show another door that would not open until the front door was shut. Naomi was confused at what lay behind. The elf shut the front door and instantly the other door opened to reveal a bathroom of marble floors and crystal walls. Like the prefect's bathroom (but on a smaller scale) it had a bathtub with many knobs. Naomi turned one and a pink liquid came out, bubble bath maybe. There was a dirty clothes rack and lots of cubbyholes to look in. Naomi looked along the wall and found pictures of past Head Girls and right at the end was Naomi and Hermione. They all had shades to cover them of course just incase someone didn't want to shower with them watching.

The girls both reluctantly left the room and followed across the hall. Naomi's idea about the left side being the girl's side was obviously wrong. Hansin led them past the first door, figuring it was the boy's bathroom, and onto the second. He pushed open the swinging door to find a dining area. Nothing huge but it was elegant. Not feeling the need to stay for very long all of them moved on the 3rd and final door. Naomi opened it to find a big common room with couches and chairs and in the center were 2 fireplaces. Naomi walked over to them as she saw a note from Dumbledore.

Dear Head Boy's and Girl's

I trust you like this little hallway here, and this would be the final room of the tour. In front of you, you see two fireplaces, one pink lined and one blue lined. I am sure you know which is yours Ron. This is both a central heating system for the Hallway and a way of communication. On a visit to my good friend Herald, a non-magical, we surfed the internanet, or was it the intoenerve, oh it doesn't matter. Getting to the point, just search through the schools directory to find a person that you wish to talk to and it will direct you to the common's fireplace of that person. It is my advice that you make sure that the person is in the common room or dorm because the fireplace communication does not extend to the classrooms. The students can also contact you from their fireplaces to inform you of some type of problem, should one of you not be here at the time, a house elf will take a message and one of you can take care of the problem immediately.

Thank you very much and have a good rein as Head Students.

P.S. Hermione we had that library installed for you this morning. )

Naomi laughed at his choice of words and taped the note back on the fireplace. She felt the walls vibrate signaling that there was 30 minutes till the end of break. Naomi grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her to the dorm just as Harry and Ron were coming through the front door. Together Naomi and Hermione pulled their things together to get ready for Runes. They were both packed and ready to go but decided to stay in the common room until Harry and Ron arrived from their tour.

Quickly Naomi thought of something and all around the room were signs dictating over and over 'Hermione and Naomi's Domain )' Hermione laughed at her idea and figured that the boy's hadn't realized the trick yet so she left it that way. The girls sat there talking and drinking Hot Chocolate that Dobby, whom Naomi found out was Hermione's friend, so graciously brought them. 5 minutes into a conversation the boys walked through the door and looked around the room in disgust. During the course of the conversation Hermione had turned the walls pink and added dangling hearts.

They sat down across from the girls as Naomi changed half the room to being blue with floating snitches. They seemed to become more comfortable with the change but not for long as Naomi and Hermione grabbed the boys and shoved them into their room telling them that they needed to get ready for class. Naomi could sense in Harry that he had wanted to ask her something but couldn't get it out. She just shrugged it off and grabbed her things and was off to Ancient Runes with Hermione while the boys headed in the direction of Divination.


	8. Angst and Lies

Chapter 8: Angst and Lies

The classes that day were pretty quiet but Naomi had a lot of homework. Both she and Hermione had 3 classes together that day minus Defense against the Dark Arts. They both decided to skip dinner that day and eat at the dining spot in the Head Hall, which Naomi decided to call "the palace" because to her that was what it really was. They helped the elves cook pasta that day; well the elves taught them how really.

All four of them ate in the dining room and when the table was cleared both Harry and Ron went off to Quidditch practice while Naomi and Hermione raided the library and started the Homework. Snape had assigned a massive 4 foot long essay on account of the fact that Naomi had read ahead over the summer just like Hermione had done. He felt that since they had the time to ignore his lesson they also had the time to write the essay. They both decided to start on that one first since it was the longest and because it was due first thing the next morning. Naomi and Hermione had to look for a good while until Naomi found a good number of books that were related to the subject. It was a very narrow line so the essay took a lot longer that expected. By 7 p.m., 2 hours after Naomi had started, she finally put in the title: The multiple theories on the control of wild banshees through potions.

Both Naomi and Hermione were exhausted but vowed to finish at least three of the assignments that day. Runes had a very easy assignment since all they had to do was identify the most common uses and decipher a single rune. Naomi decided to finish reading the packet since she knew that she wasn't going to be up to it the next day. Naomi was finally finished with the summaries and Hermione with her Care of Magical Creatures paper at 9. Soon after they had put their things back in the room and the books back in the library, Harry and Ron burst through the door in triumph. They were talking about how the Slytherins had shown up, like usual, with a pass from Snape, but this time McGonagall was there in the sidelines with a written paper signed by Dumbledore that said: All teams have to book the field in order to practice, no exceptions.

They were walking by and about to go into their room to go to bed but Hermione and Naomi grabbed them by the collar and pulled them into the library. The girls sat them down and handed them the potion books needed to write the essay. Of course they protested saying that it wasn't due till Wednesday for them but Naomi reminded that they had detention all night tomorrow because of what happened in divination that day.

"Hermione, Naomi." Ron whined, "You've already finished your essay and we are both tired, you see, from practicing for hours. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if we just um, looked at your essays, right?"

"Wrong!" They both said in unison, slamming the books down on the table in front of them for added effect. Reluctantly the boys picked up their quills and started the essay. As Naomi left she heard Harry start to say something but the word caught in the back of his throat as she kept walking.

As Naomi shut the door behind her, she heard Ron tell Harry that he needed to ask her some time. Naomi was confused but she knew he would get it out some time or another. She continued walking behind Hermione until she reached the room and watched Hermione mess with the settings of the door, making sure that it didn't admit any male DNA. Naomi changed within the privacy of her bed curtains and got under the warm wool blanket and went to sleep listening to the quite playing of an unknown symphony.

Back in the library Harry was wondering when it might be the right time to ask Naomi about what had happened back there in the dark hallway. He had watched Madame Pomfrey examine her and he saw multiple bruises on her neck and legs. Who knew what other kinds of things lay hidden beneath the gown? He had heard Madame Pomfrey muttering something about 'to young to feel that way.' He wondered what she had been talking about but the more he asked the more hostile she became and finally got fed up and kicked them out. Harry could see in her eyes that there was something that she didn't want them to know about.

Back in the girl's dorm Naomi were tossing around in bed, sweating, and crying. Hermione was a deep sleeper and didn't wake up as Naomi tossed with the nightmare heavy in her mind. It was like Hell all over again. Draco was carving Naomi with a knife like she was some sort of clay block that would soon be a statue. Than when he had finished he took a bucket of the shining gray potion and doused her with it. She screamed so loudly that Hermione jumped from the bed grabbed her wand and ran over to her thinking she was being attacked. Naomi's head shot up and she felt horrible stinging in her side. She looked down and her nightshirt and was glad to find it white. There was a loud banging on the door and Hermione ran to let the boys into the room.

The minute the door was unlocked, it flung open to show a worried Harry. His eye darted around the dorm looking for Naomi's and when they locked he sprinted up to her crushing her in a hug. Why was he acting so weird?

"Jeez woman, you nearly gave Harry hear a heart attack. He was screaming about how the Death Eaters got to you. He doesn't even move that fast in Quidditch practice." Ron nagged.

Naomi laughed at his mini-speech and that seemed to relieve Harry. He got up and started to leave the room and she saw that all so familiar look in his eye. Quickly Naomi told Hermione loud enough, but not to loud that it was obvious, that she was going to sleep in the common room instead. Naomi grabbed a pillow and blanket and exited the room.

She situated herself in the room and every once in a while she would look at the door very subtly and would see the rims of glasses peering through. _I knew this would work_. Naomi finished and lay down on the couch counting down to when Harry would make himself known. Just as she had closed her eyes he quietly came through the door.

"Hey Naomi? I'm really sorry to bother you but Ron; you see, has decided to use my bed as his personal table and ended up knocking over his pumpkin juice. I guess what I'm saying is can I stay in here with you?" Even though Naomi knew he could just use a spell to clean up the "mess" she nodded her head. She sat up to let him sit on the couch with her.

He sat pretty far away from Naomi so she scooted closer saying that she didn't have cooties, he laughed. He seemed kind of tense but loosened up when Naomi laid her head on his shoulder. He cleared his throat sending vibrations through his body and chills down Naomi's spine. Finally he opened his mouth to speak.

"May I ask you a question?" Naomi nodded her head, a few strands of hair falling from her loose ponytail, "What happened back in that corridor? When you were in the hospital wing I saw bruises." He said with a very concerned voice.

Not exactly the type of question she was anticipating she knew that he had wanted to ask for a long time so Naomi had to give him an answer.

"Ok, Draco and I left the Great hall and he was going to help me get my stuff and take it down to the new hall. But halfway there, McGonagall stopped him saying that Snape needed him so that's when I continued by myself but got off track and when I turned around Peeves was behind me. He scared the crap out of me and I fell back hitting my neck on the table then when I tried to stand up I just passed out. I guess that's where you all came in."

Harry nodded but somewhere inside of her, Naomi knew that he hadn't bought it. He was getting up to leave saying he could just clean the mess up but she stopped him.

"Please stay, it's lonely out here." Naomi attempted to smile but it wouldn't work. He just nodded slightly and went over to the armchair.

"No lay on the couch you will be much more comfortable."

"Where will you sleep?"

"Just lay on the stupid couch." She said to him smirking. He rolled his eyes and walked over, lying on the couch. Naomi pushed him back a little and sat in front of him when he didn't protest she lied down in front and pulled her arms under her head.

Harry tensed up a bit, but after a while his muscles relaxed. He waited until the girl that lay in front of him was asleep to snake his arm around her, just to be more comfortable of course. Naomi smiled unconsciously as he covered them both up and returned to the position. They both started breathing in sync with each other as Harry finally fell asleep. The night passed by without mention, if only they could say the same about that morning.

Naomi woke up to someone or something breathing in her face. Her eyes shot open and the person stumbled back from shock and fell across the table. Naomi screamed and Harry literally jumped up from where he was. Ron lay sprawled out on the floor.

"RONALD WEASLEY! How could you? You quite nearly gave me a heart attack!" Naomi screamed.

"Hmm heart, funny you should mention that, it seems that you have found one." Ron laughed.

"What on Earth are you talking about-" oh. He had seen her with Harry.

"It isn't what it looks like. He just came in here saying that you messed up his bed so I offered him a spot to sleep but honestly, the arm chair isn't comfortable and this is the only couch." Naomi rambled in a desperate attempt for an excuse.

"Naomi shut up ok, that wasn't it at all and we all know it." Ron had a knack for being oddly bold. Both Naomi and Harry blushed hard. Hermione came through the door from the kitchen and looked at the situation.

"Ron I told you not to look at her like that hadn't I? Look what you have gone and done. You woke them up, and they looked so comfortable." Now why didn't that sound much like a nagging? Naomi looked at how Hermione was smiling and knew that she was in it just as much as Ron was.

Hermione grabbed Naomi by the arm and she didn't have to be told twice that classes would be starting in an hour. The girls were up and out of the room in one second flat. Naomi ran into the bathroom and ran all of the fountains at once to speed up the time it took to fill the tub. It took about a minute and she stepped into the steaming hot tub. Naomi pumped a bottle and her favorite shampoo came out. Very quickly she washed her hair and body so that they still had time to put together a sack for the day's classes. She was finally out of the bath and dressed in 20 minutes.

Naomi ran through the corridor to her room and flung all of her books onto her bed and put only her Herbology, History of Magic books, and a good supply of parchment, a single quill, and a bottle of ink into it. Naomi decided that she and Hermione were going to spend break in the library doing the left over Arithmacy homework and Naomi would do her Herbology while Hermione did Transfiguration. Naomi had 10 minutes to get down to Herbology with the Ravenclaws so she bid farewell to the rest of them and zoomed out of the door.

Naomi and Hermione had their faces buried in the books by the time break had started. Together they had finished Arithmacy and Naomi was on her last sentence for Herbology. She closed her book early and told Hermione that she would see her at lunch and again at Dinner in the Great Hall.

_Her heart fluttered as the Angel's warmth radiated onto her skin._


End file.
